Dan Pacheco

By Luke Graham

As Dan Pacheco ('94) rode up the chairlift in Vail, the last thing on his mind should have been work. Pacheco was worn out after launching the Web site Bakotopia.com, a free community and listings site for Bakersfield, Calif., residents ages 18 to 35. His boss at The Bakersfield Californian told him to get away and relax. Unfortunately, the site had some problems, and he had to work.

"In between runs, I would be on the chairlift responding to e-mails on a cell phone," he said.
Pacheco, a senior product manager in the New Products group for the Californian, seems to have always had a strong work ethic and fertile mind.

"I discovered (Professor) Bruce Henderson and online media at the same time" when he was a junior in 1992, he said.

At the time, Pacheco was managing editor of the student newspaper. He helped Henderson establish the Campus Press online.

Pacheco landed an internship at The Denver Post in 1994, writing feature articles and designing the Post's first Web site. Soon after, he was hired by The Washington Post, becoming a member of the team that put it on the Web for the first time.

Pacheco said he was soon hired by America Online.

At AOL, Pacheco began to work on online community products such as personal home pages and discussion groups, and helped design many of the community features used there today. After six years at AOL, he said he felt burned out. He said he was working nine- to 10-hour days at the office and several more at home each night. Pacheco made what he calls "a bold move" and left AOL. He said he was "done with the big company thing" and wanted to move back to Colorado.

"AOL was one of the best experiences that I've had," Pacheco said. "But I missed Colorado and wanted to get more balance in my life."

Pacheco had a conversation with The Bakersfield Californian about a job but did not want to live in California. After several conversations with CEO Richard Beene and publisher and owner Ginger Moorhouse, Pacheco said he was given the chance to work from his home in Broomfield and travel to California once a month. For Pacheco, it was a dream come true. He said he now has achieved that work and life balance, and because he works from home, his schedule is pretty flexible.

"It's not like I walk around in my bathrobe and slippers all day," he said. "I spend half my day writing product requirements and the other half on marketing Bakotopia.

"I am having more fun now than anywhere I've been."

Pacheco said the Californian realized there was a need to connect with those who traditionally don't read the newspaper. He came up with the concept of Bakotopia.com, a cross between eBay and Craigslist.org, and uses bloggers to add to its content. Pacheco said the Californian is the first U.S. newspaper to offer a free classified section online.

"It's not just about classifieds. Every week, dozens of local bands in Bakersfield promote their gigs on the site, which I see as a good sign that it is resonating with a young audience," he said. "Bloggers also contribute stories and opinion pieces for free.

"With blogs, there won't be as much of a need for a lot of reporters in the future," he said. "Also, media industries will find out that the paper isn't the best medium for people to connect anymore."

However, he said, the advent of blogging creates an even greater need for good journalists to separate truth from opinion and find the story behind the blogs.

Pacheco said he recently has been asked to speak about online media and community publishing at conferences around the country.

"Five years ago, my ideas were offbeat, but now people want to listen."
Pacheco said that his own future is less clear. While he is having fun now, he said he just goes with the flow.

"Life is more about the journey than the destination." dan@futureforecast.com